Sporting News released its annual rankings of the top 25 coaches in college football heading into the upcoming season.
While Dabo Swinney was ranked outside the top 10 nationally when CBS Sports recently ranked the top Power 4 coaches, Clemson’s longtime head coach still holds a top-10 spot in Sporting News’ rankings.
After being ranked No. 3 in last year’s edition of Sporting News’ coach rankings entering the 2025 season, Swinney is now ranked as the 10th-best coach in college football going into 2026.
Here’s what Bill Bender of Sporting News wrote about Swinney, who is entering his 19th season (and 18th full season) as Clemson’s head coach in 2026, coming off a 7-6 campaign in 2025 that marked the second-worst record in Swinney’s tenure:
“Swinney might be the toughest coach to rank on this list. On one hand, he is one of just two active coaches with multiple national championships and likely will be the next one to reach 200 career victories. On the other, the Tigers are 26-14 the last three seasons – a .650 winning percentage that does not quite measure up after a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025. Swinney remains in the top 10 – at least for now.”
Swinney has a career head coaching record of 187-53. He is Clemson’s all-time winningest coach and the winningest coach in ACC history. The Tigers have won nine ACC titles under Swinney, including eight in the last 11 seasons, while he has guided Clemson to seven College Football Playoff appearances.
Swinney’s four national championship game appearances are more than any other active coach, and Swinney and Georgia’s Kirby Smart are the only active coaches with multiple national titles. In 13 of the last 15 years, Swinney’s Clemson program has won 10-plus games. However, the Tigers have won fewer than 10 in two of the last three years while making the playoff just once in the last five seasons following a remarkable run of six straight playoff appearances from 2015-20.
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti is No. 1 in Sporting News’ coach rankings after leading the Hoosiers to a 16-0 season and their first-ever college football national title last season.
Smart is No. 2, with Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Oregon’s Dan Lanning rounding out the top five.
Lane Kiffin, who will make his LSU head coaching debut in the 2026 season opener against Clemson on Sept. 5 in Baton Rouge, La., is No. 8 on the list.
“Kiffin is a constant content-generator off the field with the well-documented in-season move from Ole Miss to LSU,” Bender wrote. “Kiffin had a 55-19 record at Ole Miss and elevated the Rebels into a top-10 program. Now, he takes on the LSU job – where three of the last four coaches won national titles. The pressure is on Kiffin – and the spotlight will be bright in the home opener against Clemson and a road trip to Ole Miss on Sept. 19.”
Coming off a national title game appearance last season, Miami’s Mario Cristobal is No. 9 overall in Sporting News’ coach rankings and the highest-ranked ACC coach, just ahead of Swinney.
Cristobal and the Hurricanes will travel to face Swinney and the Tigers on Oct. 3.
Along with Cristobal and Swinney, the other ACC coaches ranked in the top 25 are SMU’s Rhett Lashlee (No. 13), Louisville’s Jeff Brohm (No. 14) and Virginia Tech’s James Franklin (No. 20).
Clemson will host Franklin and the Hokies on Oct. 24.
Former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, now entering his fifth season as Oklahoma’s head coach, is No. 23 in the coach rankings. Oklahoma went 10-3 overall under Venables last season and returned to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019.
Athlon Sports recently ranked the ACC’s football coaches entering the 2026 season, and Swinney slid down one spot to No. 2, behind Cristobal at No. 1.